


Caught in the Undertow

by Hajimeru



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Greek gods, M/M, Post-The King's Men, demi-god!AU, hints of Percy Jackson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 22:23:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7456162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hajimeru/pseuds/Hajimeru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Neil's second year and all he wants is for the Foxes to win again this year but it looks like his father's men just won't stop and Neil's stuck remembering his mother's implicit rules. Don't stay in one place for too long, No Exy, and No playing with water.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught in the Undertow

**Author's Note:**

> Title and plot(somewhat) inspired by Timbaland ft The Fray and Esthero song: Undertow  
> plus i always wanted to do demi-god in canon setting.

  _Drip._

_Drip._

_Dri—_

Neil dropped his pencil, pausing in the middle of his math assignments, and glowered at the partially open bedroom door. Annoyed, he called out, “Kevin, shut the damn sink! It’s dripping water.”

There was no sound of shuffling from Kevin, who sat in the common room. Neil heard another drop splatter against the metallic sink.

“Kevin!” shouted Neil.

In response, he received a flick to the side of his head as Andrew said, “He’s wearing his headphones, stupid.”

Andrew sat on the edge of Neil’s desk and watched the annoyed striker rub his temple with two fingers. Andrew shook the paper in his hand as a reminder and said, “Better focus or else your scholarship’s down the drain. You can kiss your precious Exy goodbye when that happens.”

The unspoken implication hovered over their head. No Exy, no money to give to Ichirou. Neil would be dead and Andrew? Well he would just have to move on, wouldn’t he?

Neil simmered down, grounded in his current situation, and shifted his focus back onto the math problems. “Math isn’t the problem.”

Andrew scanned the paper in his hand, assessing Neil’s grades, and brought his other hand up to his mouth for a breath of the cigarette. “Your math and language classes are fine. English is borderline decent. Better watch that one or else you’ll tip the scales down. Your fucking History grade sucks.”

“I know,” Neil said crossly, repressing the urge to roll his eyes. “I did look at my own grades.”

“Seems to me that you’re too busy bitching over the sink rather than your shitty grades.”

Neil moved onto the next problem. “If you’re done lecturing me, I’d like to finish my work in peace.”

 _Drip._ Neil shut his eyes. _Drip._ His head hurt from how close the water drops sounded. Was it in his ears or right beside? _Drip._ Each drop amplified in his head or was it the ears? Fuck. He didn’t know what it was.

_Dri-_

“Snoozing off already?” Andrew interrupted.

Neil reopened his eyes and resumed his math problem. “On the other hand, stay here and talk to me about anything.”

Anything was better than the silence, than hearing the drops resound too close for his comfort.

“Can you even listen to anything irrelevant to Exy?”

“As long as it’s your voice,” Neil said, giving Andrew a sly little smile. He got a smack on the back of his head with the paper in Andrew’s hand.

“Get to work, I’ll check the sink.”

When Andrew returned, Neil’s posture had noticeably relaxed. Andrew sat on the edge of the desk again. “One of these days, you’ll have to explain things to me.”

Neil nodded, flipping onto the next page of his study packet. “When I understand what’s going on.” How else could he explain when he himself didn’t even know what was going on?

“A dead corpse can’t do much talking.”

Neil nodded. “But it is an explanation.”

Neil didn’t bother looking at Andrew but he knew he’d get a smack on the back of the head. He did. As he erased an error, he said, “I don’t plan on dying, not this time, and I won’t leave you alone, Andrew.”

“How reassuring,” Andrew said, stuffing the rolled up paper into Neil’s hood. He laid down on his bed, keeping his back to the wall, and watched Neil’s shoulder move as his hand shifted lower down the page.

“Aren’t you going to talk? I’m listening,” Neil prompted.

Andrew started counting from zero and up in Russian. Neil didn’t bother arguing about what ‘talking’ meant.

* * *

 “This is it guys,” Dan said, exhaling as softly as she could. She was nervous and excited all together. Abby turned off the bus’s engine after they found a parking spot and silence ensued as everyone listened to Dan. “If we win this match, we’ll be in the semi-finals. We’re gonna go all out and win this.”

Jack, sitting in the middle of the bus, gave an agreeing nod and jeered, “Hope there won’t be a riot in this place. I’d hate to get stomped over by a riot.”

“Doesn’t have to be a riot,” Nicky muttered.

“Anyone with feet could stomp on you,” Aaron added. He didn’t chip in for Neil’s sake but rather for his own thing he had against Jack. One of these days, he’d have to find the time and set things straight with Jack for ridiculing Katelyn with cheerleader stereotypes.

“Or fists,” Allison inserted, recalling the moment now. She tapped her cheek. “Someone hit me with a fist last year. Fucking bastard.”

Sitting in the back of the bus, Neil watched the rain drizzle outside. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for the injuries inflicted upon the other foxes, especially since they were talking about it now. Last year, Lola and her crew pretended to be security guards. They were nothing related to security, more like harbingers of destruction and pain. The staged riot was a perfect example of their doings.

This year, Lola and Romero wouldn’t be able to touch him since they were dead. Neil didn’t blink at all as he remembered the night they were inside the same room with the foxes. They were so close to the ones he called family.

“Neil,” Andrew said quietly.

Neil looked at Andrew sitting beside him and let the words spill from his mouth. “He’s dead. Lola’s dead. Romero’s dead.”

Those names meant nothing to Andrew but he knew they were something to Neil. And whoever meant harm to Neil was an obstacle to Andrew. Andrew finally said something. “They’re dead forever.”

Meanwhile, Jack and the others’ conversation escalated into an argument of insults.

“Cut the arguing,” Wymack said from the front of the bus and beckoned for them to file out. “This is a different place, different time. Grow from the past and live in the present.”

“Sure thing, captain,” Jack said as he followed one of the freshman out.

Neil and Andrew were the last to step off the bus. Neil let Wymack’s words echo in his mind. _This is a different place, different time._ They were facing a different team in a different place. This was not last year.

Kevin appeared at Neil’s side as they walked to the building. Kevin gripped the strap of his bag, firmly telling Neil, “We’re going to win this and get into semi-finals.”

Of course, Neil thought. They had to win semi-finals, win the championships, because this was the girls’ last year and they deserved it.

            …

Neil heard the shuffling of feet to his left and right, behind and before him. He heard racquets clashing together and members hissing at each other. That was normal. That was Exy. Then he heard the rain. During the middle of the match, he noticed the rain transition from a drizzling pace to full out pouring. The pouring made his head hurt and his sense of direction slowly crumbled when combined with the charging footsteps, the crowd cheering, the collective sound of rain falling, and the individual sound of drops splashing. Somehow, he could keep track of every drop.

One drop hit the roof and split into two. Those two drops slid down and merged into separate drops. Every drop slid down the slippery roof and fell onto asphalt or leaves or- the thing was Neil could hear them fall and he knew when it landed.

“Get your head in the game, Neil!” someone on the sideline shouted. Wymack? One of the foxes? Abby? He couldn’t distinguish who it was. The water was slowly blocking everyone out.

“Neil!” Kevin flung the ball to Neil who snapped out of his stupor and was quick enough to surge forward, stretch his arm, and snatch the ball into the net of his racquet before dashing out of his mark’s proximity.

His beating heart became the timer and Neil ran as if he only had seconds left to score. The digital scoreboard flashed red as Neil landed a shot. Then he was smashed into the wall and left to shove the opponent away before Matt kept the guy at a distance.

“Neil, you okay?” Nicky said as he pulled Neil onto his feet.

“I’m fine.”

Nicky narrowed his eyes at the overused statement. Neil paid no attention and shrugged the backliner off, saying, “This happens all the time, Nicky. It’s Exy, you know that.”

Neil took his position again, telling himself to focus on the ball. Focus on the ball because he was pretty sure the rain was going to drown out all other noises and voices. He’d need to use his eyes and keep track of the ball, make eye contact, and improvise from there.

            …

By the time the match ended, the foxes had won 10-7. They scored three points more than the opposing team and Neil scored those three points. Instead of joining his cheering teammates at half court, Neil stalked off court, past Wymack and Abby, and walked into the boys’ changing room.

He barely made it to his locker when Kevin stormed into the room. Neil turned around only to feel Kevin’s hands clamp down on his shoulders and slam him against the lockers. “Neil, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Neil glanced at the doorway, seeing Andrew lean against it. The rain was still furiously pouring and Kevin’s voice couldn’t be heard through the water. Everything was muffled. Not being able to hear a single clear noise was distracting enough just as it was terrifying. If Neil didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought he was going deaf.

But thing was, Neil had an inkling of what was going on.

Hoping that his ears would work again, he looked back at Kevin and said, “Say it again.”

This only made Kevin all the more enraged. “I said _what the fuck is wrong with you!_ You could’ve passed the ball to me or someone instead of getting smashed into the wall over and over!”

Neil only saw moving lips, didn’t hear a single word. The closest thing he could hear was severely muffled noises. Frustrated with the results, Neil sighed and shoved Kevin away. “Talk to me later, Kevin.”

Neil grabbed his change of clothes and headed to the showering stalls. Before he could enter though, Andrew blocked him with an arm. “How long are you going to wait?”

Neil lowered Andrew’s arm, gritting his teeth at the fact that he couldn’t even hear Andrew. He didn’t want to tell Andrew in front of the others so he brushed past and Andrew didn’t bother following.

Neil hung his clothes over the locked shower door and stared down at the tiled floor. He realized he hadn’t even taken his shoes off before entering. Neil rubbed his hands over his face and raked a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh more like an angry hiss. His body ached. He was certain his torso had bruises forming, his thighs screamed from the constant running, and his feet had been stomped all over. It didn’t help that Kevin had smashed him against metal lockers, as if he didn’t have enough of getting smashed for the night.

When he thought of Andrew, Neil got even more upset at the circumstance, at himself, and everything that was happening. They had won. Good. But he didn’t feel like he won. He didn’t get to feel that adrenaline rush from winning, didn’t get to feel so exhausted from running around. Tonight, he felt like he was trudging deep underwater. He still felt like he was underwater.

Neil remembered his mother’s voice. _Don’t stay in one place for too long. People start to remember you. No Exy and no playing with water._

Neil frowned at his open hands as he counted how many of her rules he had breached. He stayed in one place and got himself a fixed identity. He decided to play Exy and now Exy was literally his lifeline. After her death, he’d forgotten about her rule concerning water. He was too busy thinking about her death, thinking about Exy, thinking about the next stop on his run, and pining after what he couldn’t have. Last year did not give him any time to think about nor test his water ability.

_Do not do anything with water. Do you understand, Alex?_

She said that and slapped his hand because he was making the stream’s current flow backward. He was much younger at that time, eight or nine. It was daytime and they were hiding in the woods until it got closer to evening where they would then break into the emptied vacation house and steal whatever essentials they needed.

The young Alex looked at the water moving in reverse motion.

 _Alex,_ Mary said, _Do not make me repeat myself._

Alex flicked his fingers and the water flowed in its natural form again.

 _I was bored,_ Alex said. He knew better than to ask why she didn’t want him playing with water. The first couple of times he asked her that, she smacked his arms or pinched his cheeks together to keep him from asking. It wasn’t the pain she inflicted upon him that made him stop asking, it was the look on her face. If he asked about water or why he couldn’t play with the water, she looked like she was ready to abandon him right there.

And now after all the rules he had broken, water was the next. Neil laughed at that thought. _Sorry_ wouldn’t do any good. She’d hate him for the stupid decisions. Neil stared at the shower faucet and glared. He wasn’t even intentionally doing anything with water and now he could suddenly hear water so clearly no matter how far it was or what form it came in. It made his head hurt and spin.

He didn’t know what to do with the water issue and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. Then the shower faucet rattled as if some strong force was pushing against it. The metal faucet shot off the wall, shooting over the door as it clanked onto the tile aisle, and water jetted from the hole up in the tile wall. Neil blocked his face from the hard smacking water and fumbled to unlock the door. When he did, he found Andrew standing right outside his stall with the shower faucet dangling in his hand.

“Care to explain, Neil?” Andrew said.

Neil could hear the water falling, swirling into the drain in his stall. He could hear the water churn as it spout out of the hole. Then he noticed that the rain had lightened and that he could actually hear now.

“The faucet was loose,” Neil explained.

“Holy shit, Neil,” Nicky exclaimed, coming out from his own stall with a towel wrapped around his waist. “Why did you shower with your clothes on?”

Neil blinked, realizing that he was completely soaked, and quickly recovered. “Just thought I’d try a new method.”

“One that includes a loose faucet apparently,” Andrew added, dubious. He motioned for Neil to step outside as they got Wymack to request maintenance. Matt offered Neil some spare clothes to change into and when Neil returned to the lockers, Wymack was waiting for him.

“The others are waiting in the bus. Abby’s watching over them,” he started, pointing a finger behind him. “You’re going to explain to me why you did what you did today.”

“Is this related to what Kevin was telling me earlier?”

“Yes, Neil. You could’ve passed but you didn’t. Whenever the ball landed in your net, you hoarded it and ran like you had no teammates. What’s with the sudden change?”

Neil sat on the bench, finally noticing that his bag was gone. “Did Andrew take my bag?”

“Yes. Now answer me, Neil. You are not leaving until you give me a reply. The others can wait all night if they have to.” 

Neil sighed, keeping his eyes trained on the locker beside Wymack’s head. “I couldn’t hear during the game so I decided to not risk passing and getting interceptions.”

Wymack rubbed his face exhaustedly. “No wonder why you kept getting smashed. Neil, you’re supposed to flag out for those kinds of things. Not hearing counts as injuries, you know?”

Wymack hurried them to the bus and seated Neil next to Abby. He briefed her about Neil’s case and she gave Neil a disapproving look with lips pressed thinly together in concern.

“I thought something was odd,” Nicky said after he got the freshman to move back so he could take their seat.

“Then why didn’t you tell, Coach?” Dan remarked, irritated that someone knew something about Neil and didn’t do anything. She was kneeling on her seat to look over at Abby and Neil. Nicky started to defend himself until Abby told them to quiet down.

Wymack drove them back as Abby checked Neil. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Four.”

“Let me check your eyes.” She pulled out a tiny flashlight, ordering, “Follow the light.”

Neil did as he was told. He could hear the rain drizzle. It sounded much softer, more like a static hum in the background. “I don’t have any problems with sight, Abby.”

“I’m checking to see if you’re concussed. Do you hear any buzzing, ringing sounds?”

Neil shook his head. Abby leaned against the seat, still tense. “I can’t check your ears unless I have the proper material but that’s back at my place. We’ll have to do it when we get back to tonight. Are you feeling faint?”

“Does tired count?”

Abby held a hesitant look. “I’m scared to let you sleep because I’m not too certain about your case.”

“Oh yes,” Nicky chimed in, sounding sad for Neil. “Andrew would be sad if you fell into a concussi- _ow._ ”

Nicky rubbed his head and sunk into his seat as Andrew came by, greeting, “Reckless as usual, hm, Neil?”

“That’s me,” Neil shot back, getting up despite Abby’s protests. He told her he wouldn’t fall asleep and when she didn’t budge, he assured her Andrew would keep an eye on him.

Andrew followed Neil to the back of the bus. “Yes, of course, because I’m somehow his babysitter.”

Neil made an approving sound and settled down into a seat. Andrew sat close enough so that their sides were pressed against each other. “When are you going to stop omitting the truth?”

“When I know what’s going on,” Neil quietly replied.

“Dead bodies aren’t an explanation, remember that.”

Neil nodded as he stared out into the dark scenery. They were probably passing pastures or less populated areas right now. Then he finally looked at Andrew, taking in Andrew’s fist clutching Matt’s shirt that was too big for Neil and the tension of his clenched jaw.

Neil shut his eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you.”

“Better keep your word or else I’ll kill you myself.”

Neil nodded. He felt Andrew shift closer, breath on skin, and whispered, “Yes or no?”

Andrew curled his fingers around the back of Neil’s neck and his thumb stroked the side of Neil’s throat. “Well something’s got to keep you awake and, no, we are not talking about Exy all the way back.”

“So yes to making out?” Neil said with a tiny smile.

“Yes.” Andrew leaned in to kiss Neil.

* * *

The next couple of days were blurs for Neil. He dreamed of the Californian beach where his mother burned. The smoke and gas permeated the air. Bright and lively flames occasionally exploded with sparks as he watched like he did years ago. In his dreams, Neil could hear the water much more clearly. He felt in sync with the water like he could understand it talking to him. 

In his dreams, he buried his mother’s bones at the beach and walked away like he did in reality. The waves rode onto the shore, saying goodbye and wishing good luck as it claimed the spot that was once on fire.

Neil yawned into his hand as class ended. Spring break was starting and students were emptying campus in favor of beach trips and fun activities. The weather forecast predicted the break to be sunny and cool, not a trace of rain, which Neil was glad to hear. He hadn’t asked the upperclassmen about their plans for break but he was certain they would probably go somewhere together for memory making and Andrew’s lot would head to Columbia. Kevin would probably yap about coming back to court for Exy practice. The freshmen were the only ones Neil knew that had plans taking place outside of town.

After class, Neil took his time walking to the foxhole court where Kevin was most likely already practicing. After qualifying for the semi-finals, Kevin didn’t so much as speak a single word to Neil and Neil wasn’t feeling the need to patch things up when he had other pressing things to worry about.

As Neil neared the court, he smelled fire. Something was burning but there was no visible smoke in the air. He ran into the dimly lit arena and found the foxes sitting on the inner court surrounded by two men.

“Come on out and play, Nathaniel.”

Neil swallowed a lump in his throat when he heard the familiar voice. He stepped out from the shadows, walking closer to the plexiglass, and said, “Let them go, Jackson.”

“Wonderful to see you again,” Jackson greeted. He dragged an axe along the floor, creating a line in the court, and beckoned for Neil to step inside.

“I’m here to finish what Nathan wasn’t able to.”

“How loyal,” Neil commented. His hand was shaking but he fought to keep it still as he opened the door and entered. He fought the urge to run and get help because that would leave Jackson and the other stranger with the foxes. Neil couldn’t afford to do such a thing and he couldn’t bring himself to look at them. He was afraid to see the damage they had to endure because of him again.

“Do not touch him!” Wymack spat out, wrestling with the rope tied around his wrist. “The FBI is still watching him so unless you want-”

“Shut it unless you want to lose that tongue.”

Neil looked at Wymack and only Wymack. His hands morphed into fists when he saw the black eye forming on his coach’s bruised face. “Don’t say anymore, Coach.”

“Good boy,” Jackson cooed.

Neil spotted the metal barrel of fire by the stranger’s side and looked back at Jackson. It smelled like gasoline and burnt rubber inside the arena.

“What are you planning to do?” Neil asked rather slowly. He edged away from the door, keeping the plexiglass to his back.

“Just leave!” Nicky cried out, clearly terrified. _Save yourself_ hung on the end of Nicky’s outcry. Neil kept his eyes trained on the unmoving Jackson.

“Lola and Romero are dead. Aren’t you glad, Nathaniel?”

“I am glad. Besides, they had it coming,” Neil said and glanced at the stranger, trying to understand his purpose for being here.

“And yours is coming. You got lucky your damn uncle meddled with our affairs and DiMaccio got shot.”

Neil felt the sweat trickling down his neck. He had the half the urge to look at the bleachers for his father’s right hand man. “Is he alive?”

Jackson’s calm mask cracked with anger and a bit of grief. “He died but he left me with a contact to finish this task.” Jackson jerked his head at the stranger. “He’s here to burn you into nothing. I’m going to hack all your limbs off.”

Neil glanced at Renee, then at Andrew who was staring at Renee. He really hoped Andrew was making use of his knives to cut those ropes free. In the meantime, Neil just hoped he could summon enough water to put out the fire.

What he didn’t expect was balls of fire to come spiraling at him at the stranger’s will. Neil had to run, duck, roll, and clamber onto his feet nonstop. His jacket was singed from the too-close moments where he could have caught fire. He was sweating like he played an entire Exy match when it had only been two or three minutes.

“Quick on his feet,” the man said.

Neil was much closer to Jackson than when he first stepped onto the court. Every time he scooted away, the stranger sent fire at him, pushing him closer to a very amused Jackson.

Neil wished he had a knife on him or some kind of weapon but he didn’t. Water was the only thing he could attempt to use. The closest source of water he could recall was the indoor drinking water fountains. The second closest place he could recall was the changing rooms’ shower stalls.

Another spit of fire came funneling at him and Neil jumped even closer to Jackson, who took the chance to swing his axe at Neil. Neil managed to evade it by stumbling backwards but he fell during the process, and that gave enough time for Jackson to lift the axe for another strike.

Nicky, Matt and Dan cried out in horror, urging for Neil to hurry and dodge. Neil rolled away in lieu of getting up and running. He managed to escape the axe that fell on his former spot. Then came a stream of fire and Neil couldn’t escape it fast enough so he turned face down as the fire came raining down.

Neil felt the fire latch onto his jacket, burning and eating everything in its way. Neil hurried to shrug the jacket off as his skin heated up, pain searing throughout his system. His body cried, _flee_.

In the midst of his own issue, Neil heard people scuffling. Andrew had tackled Jackson from behind and plunged his blade into Jackson’s back as he wrestled the axe out of Jackson’s grip. He kicked the axe away and kneed the man in the stomach, then the face. Renee was cutting the others’ ropes.

Fire came shooting again and Neil was long free from his jacket. He ran over to the bleeding Jackson and harshly shoved Andrew away before he held up Jackson’s body as a human shield.

The problem with a court was that there was nothing to hide behind, Neil thought to himself as Jackson screamed from the burning fire. Neil dropped the burnt and bleeding Jackson to the floor as fire disappeared from the air.

Renee, bleeding from the nose, managed to swipe her blade at the man’s ankles. He was on his knees as Renee stabbed him in the neck, aiming for the spinal nerves. Andrew was cutting the rope around Allison, Aaron and Wymack’s wrists. Matt, Dan, Nicky and Kevin were heading to the door when the man kicked the barrel of fire to its side. The flames caught onto the gasoline spilled around the court’s perimeter. Nicky yelped and lurched away from the looming flames. In a few seconds, the court’s border was completely engulfed in fire.

Neil felt the heat surrounding them. He heard the man’s deep voice as he cried out in pain from Renee’s calculated attacks. Neil’s mind was frantic. He smelled his mother’s burning body, the rubber from the car, gasoline, and the ocean.

 _Water_. He needed to touch water. The man had fire nearby so he could bend it to his will. Neil just needed to be near water or something like that he hoped. He wasn’t that skilled to will water from a distance.

Neil pushed Kevin and Nicky to the side as he charged through the flames and fought against the door. The metal handle burned his skin. Matt and Dan screamed for him to stop. Neil felt like he had been standing in the fire for an eternity when it had only been several seconds.

When the door swung open, Neil fell onto the lowest line of the bleachers. Tears brought from the fire’s heat slid down his charred skin and his hands were once again raw and bleeding. The air outside the court, by the bleacher, was much cooler but still hot.

Neil glanced at the others trapped inside the plexiglass walls, surrounded by the growing fire, and ran.

“Neil!” they shouted. Neil hurried into the changing room and pressed his bloody hand against the cool tile wall, hissing at the contrasting temperatures. He shut his eyes and wished for the fucking water to come pouring, crashing through the walls and pipes. He just wanted the fire to be gone. He wanted everyone safe and sound. No more bleeding. No more getting hurt.

_Stop it, Stefan. What did I tell you? No more playing with water. People will use you when they know you can do that._

Neil shook his head, frantic and antsy. He had to hurry before the fire got them.

_There’s no good in playing with water, Chris. You can’t control nature._

“I’m not, Mom!” Neil shouted to no one but himself. He couldn’t shout at her. She was dead, and his family would be dead pretty soon if he couldn’t get his shit together. “I don’t want to control nature. I just need to save them with water, just once.”

Neil shut his aching eyes tightly. “Just once. Do what I say.” He let out a shuddering breath as he heard his teammates panicking cries of his name.

“Come on you piece of fucking shit!” Neil slammed his fist on the wall. “Help me. I never once did anything with water after mom told me not to! Just this one time and I swear I will never use you again.”

Neil pounded the wall again. His bones ached. His heart was breaking for his friends, for this court that he called a home. Everything was getting destroyed. He promised he would tell Andrew about his water ability when he could understand things himself. How would he explain his ability to a corpse?

 _They can’t die, so help me._ Neil remembered the ocean in his dreams; it was calling his mother’s name as it crept back and forth against the shoreline. When he left the beach, the waves washed over her buried bones, taking her with them back into the ocean. _You saved her; you can save them as well. They’re family._

A fissure cracked in the tile walls and suddenly water broke through the wall. Rushing water turned into a room-sized current that swiftly flowed through the tiny hallway into the court.

Neil felt himself being carried on top of the raging water and he heard the sizzling as water washed out the angry fire. Smoke wafted throughout the court. The fire alarms went off. Emergency sprinklers churned out water.

Neil was dropped into the water, sinking fast, but he could breathe because of the air bubble around him. It was probably a quirk of his water ability, he thought. He swam around the underwater court, looking for the others, and he saw them bunched together in an air bubble.

Neil sighed in relief. They were injured and scared shitless, but alive and breathing. Andrew was tense and glaring at Neil. Neil held back a relieved smile and moved his hands, remembering how he used to do it when he was younger. He had the water slowly push the air bubble up to the water’s surface and followed. Then he had them pushed to the top line of the bleachers, dry and safe from the water.

Nicky gasped as if he didn’t have air underwater and clung to the bleacher like he would get sucked underneath again.

The moment Allison was safe on the bleacher, she demanded, “What the fuck are you, Neil! Some kind of water god? There’s no fucking way you broke the wall with a fist and got this much water out here.”

Neil was still in the water, kicking his legs to stay afloat.

“We’re still keeping you even if you are,” Wymack said.

“Yeah, you just saved our lives,” Matt added. Dan wrapped her arms around Matt and nodded appreciatively.

“I honestly thought you ran away,” Kevin admitted. Aaron helped Andrew out of the water and Neil felt his beating heart smoothen into a much more normal pace.

“I guess I-”

A hand yanked Neil underwater by the leg. Burnt Jackson got his hands around Neil’s neck, choking Neil, as he pushed them both down onto the court. Neil tried to knee Jackson in the stomach but water slowed his movement and the impact. He willed the water to bring him one of Andrew’s blades on the ground and the moment metal met his palm, he drove it into Jackson’s chest and leaned into Jackson to dig it in deep.

When he yanked it out and kicked Jackson away, he was breathing hard. The red blood oozed out from Jackson’s wound and diluted in color. Neil wished there were sharks to come and feast on Jackson. _Jackson’s not family,_ Neil thought. For extra precaution, he said to the water, _He’s not to be saved. Now let’s get this mess cleaned up._

Neil began to swim up to the surface when he felt the water start to move in one direction. Everything was being swept out of the building, including him. Neil wanted to smack his head for being so stupid. He should’ve made himself immune from the cleanup.

Guess this was what his mother meant when she said nature couldn’t be controlled. Neil was quickly losing power over the water as its weight pulled him under and out of conscious.

            …

“Neil, oh Neil,” Nicky murmured anxiously as the water rushed out the exits. They couldn’t see Neil anywhere so they knew he was under and most likely caught in the undertow.

It took a while for the water to lower and empty the arena. When the court was finally visible, the foxes saw the plexiglass torn down and lying on the ground. The two goal nets were pressed up against a wall near the exit. The barrel was tucked in a corner of the arena.

Andrew was already heading down the slippery bleachers and onto the wet floor. Neil was nowhere in sight. The foxes trailed after him as he strode outside. They found Neil squashed under the fire user just a few feet from the building.

Andrew rolled the dead man off of Neil and checked his breathing.

“Kiss him Andrew!” Nicky urged. He backed away because of Andrew’s glowering and clarified, “I meant resuscitation.”

Andrew pushed his hands down on Neil’s chest a few times, and Neil coughed up water as he rolled onto his side, wincing from the pain all over.

“She’s going to kill me,” Neil murmured. Nicky glanced at Aaron who shrugged and Andrew fisted Neil’s shirt. “Not before I do, you piece of shit.”

Neil creaked his eyes open, seeing the sun beam on him, and let out an exhausted sigh. “I’m never doing this again.”

Allison scoffed as she looked at her nails. “The same goes for me. My hair is ruined. You know how long it took me to get this style down?”

Neil was pretty sure she could do it with ease but time was precious, so he could understand her anger. Kevin sat on the cement beside him and let the sun soak warmth into his body. “The court’s ruined.”

“Forget about Exy,” Aaron said, deciding to sit as well. Nicky joined him and added, “Yeah, we just survived two killers, a fucking crazy fire, and a raging ocean.”

“Not an ocean,” Dan corrected. “Just an arena of water.”

After rolling the dead bodies away, they all ended up sitting on the ground around Neil, who worked to get his breathing in check. Dan leaned against Matt and shook her head disbelievingly. “I don’t know what we experienced but I am ready to sleep and just rest for this entire break.”

“Same,” Neil muttered. “I can’t feel my body.”

Renee and Wymack stepped out of the building after calling the cops and Abby. “You’re going to the hospital. All of you, I mean.”

“Can’t wait to see you in there too, Coach,” Andrew said. He nudged Neil in the side and said in Russian, “You are going to tell me everything after we get checked, got it?”

Neil simply nodded and the moment he heard the blaring ambulance, he raised a finger. “That’s my calling.”

“I’m betting that he’s delirious right now,” Allison said. A round of bets ensued after that statement. They offered to let Neil bet on himself but he was already sleeping.

 

* * *

Neil stirred awake from his reoccurring dream. He woke up at the part where the ocean claimed his mother’s bones as he left the beach. Reality settled upon him as he took in the bandages wrapped around his arms and torso. 

Neil lied back against his pillows as a nurse and Wymack entered.

“He’s good to go. Just needs to rest and use the medication for the burns. No strenuous activities either,” she said as she checked stuff off the clipboard and tinkered with the medical devices. “Same for your other kids, sir.”

Wymack nodded and Neil shot him wry look. “And how are your other kids doing, Coach?”

“In the bus with Abby and your visitors.”

Neil straightened up at that news. “How many, Coach?”

“Two.”

Neil swung his feet off the bed and reached for the bag of clothes in Wymack’s hand. “I’m getting changed now.”

…

When they arrived inside the bus, Neil was expecting to see Stuart and maybe one of Ichirou’s men but not some man who dressed like a surfer and a guy who looked like a camp instructor. Neil only thought that because the latter man wore a shirt saying CAMP and then something in Greek or Latin.

“I don’t know them,” Neil said, turning to look at Wymack.

“Great, then I can kill them,” Andrew said. To the two strangers, he pulled out a blade and said, “You lied about knowing Neil.”

Nicky shook his head. “Neil, how many killers do you have?”

Neil shot him an annoyed look and said to the men, “Can I help you with something?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “You should be telling them to get lost, not inviting them to murder you.”

“For once, I agree with Aaron,” Kevin said. Allison tacked onto that agreement but revised it to her agreeing with those two for the first time.

Wymack swatted a hand in the air and told them to shush. Abby started the bus and drove them back to campus while the visitors explained themselves. Neil sat across from them with Andrew in the seat beside him and Wymack on the other. The others surrounded them.

“I’m from a camp that helps demi-gods,” the camp instructor said, “which are kids that have gods as one parent and humans as the other.”

“And I work for your father who reigns the deep blue sea,” surfer guy explained, skirting around a direct approach. From his past experiences, it usually went better when he was implicit. If the demi-god didn’t catch the implication, then he took the explicit route and used the god’s name. At least then the shock and denial wasn’t entirely on him but rather his boss who ruled the deep blue sea.

“My father is dead. He died last year,” Neil flatly replied. “I don’t need another father.”

Surfer guy nodded and handed over a present bag. “It’s for you from your father.”

Ignoring the guy’s insistence about Neil’s other father, Neil took the bag’s fabric handle and stared at the urn surrounded by white tissue paper. He set it on his lap as he pulled out the urn. “Is this…?”

“It is she. We took her bones after you left.”

Neil lifted the lid and found ash sitting inside. He shook his head, keeping his eyes lowered, as he tried to find his voice. He didn’t know what he was expecting to find. Maybe he thought his mom would pop out like a genie from a lamp? Maybe she would smack him for being so stupid and breaking the last rule like he did all the others.

“The camp is designed to help demi-gods and their powers. Also, we reunite them with their other siblings who share the same god parent,” instructor said. “It’s only for the summer. We have some kids who stay there yearlong but that’s their decision. Are you interested in coming?”

Andrew grabbed the back of Neil’s shirt and twisted it inside of his fist. Neil remembered Andrew doing this back in Baltimore; a silent _you’re staying_. Neil shut the lid and tucked the urn back into the bag.

“Thanks but no thanks, my summer’s are busy. I have Exy practice during summer,” Neil explained. Kevin gave Neil an approving pat on the back and Allison feigned gagging. Neil continued, “I don’t need to meet half-siblings when my family’s already here.”

Touched, Dan leaned her head against Matt’s shoulder. Renee and Nicky smiled when Neil said that. He handed the bag back to the surfer man. “I don’t need this either.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Neil said. “He can keep her ashes. Maybe it’ll remind him of his failure to save her when he could have.”

The surfer guy smiled sadly. “We were watching you that night. We could have done something but it’s just that godly interferences are a troublesome matter.”

The instructor chimed in brightly, waggling a finger, “ _But_ we’re working on that! We have a promising demi-god working on gods and their relationships to their children.”

Neil sharply replied, “It doesn’t concern me. I don’t have a father, never really had one so work on those other demi-gods who want the help. I don’t want to have anything to do with this.”

The two visitors nodded, seeing the resolution in Neil.

“Your powers though,” the instructor prodded. “What are you going to do about that?”

Neil stared at his bandaged hands. “I’m not going to summon a tsunami or anything. This was just a one-time thing. The situation called for drastic measures.”

The camp instructor shrugged and leaned back closer to the window. The sun made his tan skin gleam with a healthy shine. “You seem like a smart kid, I’m sure you’ll work your way through if you ever need to use it again.”

“Neil’s stupid,” Andrew countered. “He needs things spelled out for him.”

Neil leaned his head against Andrew’s arm. “That’s what I heard too.”

“That’s what you said,” Andrew reminded in Russian.

The camp instructor smiled knowingly at Andrew. “Oh and Hasty says hello to you, dear child. She said she’s glad you found it, always knew you’d find it.”

Andrew stared at the guy as Neil, like all the other foxes, looked at Andrew in confusion and curiosity. Surfer man laughed and wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes. “Oh how I love you mortals.”

“Enough to sleep with them and leave your offspring alone,” Andrew quipped.

Surfer man smiled. “Touché. You’re a feisty blessed one of Hestia’s.”

“Blessed one?” Nicky repeated, mixed with horror and shock. “What is Andrew? The messiah?”

Allison and Kevin snorted. Aaron narrowed his eyes like this talk about Andrew being a blessed one was nonsense.

“Hestia is the goddess of hearth and family, a symbol of home,” Neil softly said, as if he was talking to himself. He looked at Andrew and traced the outline of a familiar key into his palm. Andrew was his home.

Andrew covered Neil’s eyes with his hand to stop Neil from staring like he was the answer. Andrew recalled meeting a woman called Hasty when he was in high school. They met at a bus stop and when her bus came, she turned to Andrew, smiling that loving, caring smile that mothers gave their children. At the time, Andrew dismissed her as a churchgoer sputtering her ‘God is home’ crap.

She said: _You’ll find your home in due time, Andrew Minyard, for Hasty has blessed you. Just as you’ve been a rock for others, you’ll find one to lean on as well._

She boarded the bus and Andrew was left alone at the bus stop, thinking about how Cass should’ve been the one and could’ve been the home he wanted.

“We’ll get off here,” Surfer guy called out to Abby. The two visitors bid their farewells to a confused Abby and an intrigued Wymack. They waved goodbye as the bus drove past them and disappeared into thin air.

“Well look at what we have here,” Allison said, grinning. Dan finished her sentence. “Two peas in a pod. A demi-god and a blessed child of Hasty.”

Renee took care of the upperclassmen and got them back into their seats while Andrew pulled Neil to the back of the bus, leaving the rest of his lot in the front with the others.

Neil leaned against Andrew. “So does that count as an explanation?”

“Not entirely. The loose shower faucet, was that your doing?”

Neil nodded. “I was frustrated because I couldn’t hear anything during the match.”

Andrew almost rolled his eyes. “Or you were freaking out in the shower because you couldn’t hear anything but the pouring rain.”

“Smart, smart,” Neil complimented. “Better than me who needs everything spelled out for them.”

“Indeed,” Andrew agreed. “Next time, just tell me. You looked like you wanted to run away the moment it started raining.”

“I’m working on that.”

“Work harder.”

“Yes or no?” Neil asked, leaning very close to Andrew’s face. “I want to kiss you.”

“I can see that, Neil.” Andrew kissed Neil, who wrapped his arms around Andrew’s neck and smiled against Andrew’s mouth.

It was just as Hestia said. That in due time Andrew would find his home and it was a home that had a smart mouth with a tendency to run away. Andrew was working on that house. One day, the house wouldn’t want to flee so much and these days, the house didn’t flee so much.


End file.
